System, Apparatus, and Method for Facilitating Guaranteed Number of Wins Events in Conjunction with a Gaming Activity

ABSTRACT

A primary gaming activity is provided to a player via a gaming machine that involves engaging the player in a plurality of play events. A win threshold involves a number or quantity of winning events of the plurality of play events. The player continues to be engaged in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences a number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/153,551, filed on Feb. 18, 2009, to which priority is claimed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to games, and more particularly to apparatuses and methods for facilitating a guaranteed number of wins in conjunction with a gaming activity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Casino games such as poker, slots, and craps have long been enjoyed as a means of entertainment. Almost any game that can be played using traditional apparatus (e.g., cards, dice) can be simulated on a computer. The popularity of casino gambling with wagering continues to increase, as does recreational gambling such as non-wagering computer game gambling. It is also likely that most new games will be implemented, at least in part, using computerized apparatus.

One reason that casino games are widely implemented on computerized apparatus is that computerized games are highly adaptable, easily configurable and re-configurable, and require minimal supervision to operate. For example, the graphics and sounds included in such games can be easily modified to reflect popular subjects, such as movies and television shows.

Gaming manufacturers and operators are striving to provide ever more varied and interesting experiences for gamers. For casino games in particular, the prospect of getting payouts based on a wide variety of possibilities is attractive to gamers. The programmable nature of computerized gaming machines makes the supplying of additional features relatively easy and inexpensive. The present disclosure describes representative manners of providing an enhanced gaming experience that can be included in new games, and/or included with existing games, and provides other advantages over the prior art.

SUMMARY

To overcome limitations in the prior art described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, apparatuses, systems, and methods are disclosed for providing gaming experiences to a player. In one embodiment, a method of providing a gaming experience to a player involves providing a primary gaming activity to a player via a gaming machine. The method involves engaging the player in a plurality of play events and defining a win threshold as a predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events. The player continues to be engaged in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences a number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold.

In more particular embodiments, the plurality of play events are bonus play events resulting from the primary gaming activity entering a bonus state. In one configuration, satisfying the win threshold involves the player experiencing the number of winning events that satisfies the win threshold and the player experiencing a total number of the play events that satisfies a predetermined limit on play events, regardless of the event outcome of the play events. In other configurations, the winning events include a first and a second classification of winning events, and satisfying the win threshold involves the player experiencing a predetermined combination of quantities of the first and second classifications of winning events. In one configuration, the win threshold is defined as a predetermined number of consecutive winning events of the plurality of play events.

In another, more particular embodiment, the method further involves displaying a progress indicator in conjunction with continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences the number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold. The progress indicator is updated upon each of the winning events to indicate the number of winning events needed to satisfy the win threshold.

In another embodiment of the invention, a casino gaming apparatus includes a processor, a human input and output coupled to the processor, a primary gaming module, and a bonus module. The primary gaming module causes the processor to provide player access to a primary gaming activity via the human input and output, and to relinquish play control upon the happening of a predetermined primary play state. The bonus module causes the processor to assume play control from the primary gaming module upon the happening of the predetermined primary play state. Play control includes providing player access to bonus game events via the human input and output. The bonus module causes the processor to define a win threshold as a predetermined number of the bonus game events that have a winning outcome, and relinquish play control to the primary gaming module when the win threshold is satisfied.

In more particular embodiments, the bonus module further causes the processor to define the win threshold as a) the player experiencing the number of winning events that satisfies the win threshold and b) the player experiencing a total number of the bonus game events that satisfies a predetermined limit on bonus events, regardless of the event outcome of the bonus game events. The bonus module may also further cause the processor to place the bonus game events that have a winning outcome into a first and a second classification, and relinquish play control when a predetermined combination of quantities of the first and second classifications of winning events satisfies the win threshold.

In other more particular embodiments, defining the win threshold as the predetermined number of the bonus game events that have the winning outcome may involve defining the win threshold as a predetermined number of consecutive bonus game events that have the winning outcome. In one arrangement, the bonus module further causes the processor to displaying a progress indicator via the human input and output in conjunction with providing player access to the bonus game events. The progress indicator is updated upon the occurrence of each of the bonus game events that have a winning outcome to indicate the number of winning bonus events needed to satisfy the win threshold.

In another embodiment of the invention, a computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions and is executable by a processing system for performing steps that include providing a primary gaming activity to a player via a gaming machine that involves engaging the player in a plurality of play events, defining a win threshold as a predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events, and continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences a number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold.

In another embodiment of the invention, system includes means for providing a primary gaming activity to a player via a gaming machine that involves engaging the player in a plurality of play events, means for defining a win threshold as a predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events, and means for continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences a number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold. In a more particular embodiment, the system also includes means for providing a bonus gaming activity triggered via the primary gaming activity, and where the plurality of play events include bonus play events of the bonus gaming activity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described in connection with the embodiments illustrated in the following diagrams.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a manner of providing guaranteed wins associated with a bonus gaming activity according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-D are timelines illustrating various play outcomes that may satisfy a guaranteed win threshold according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a manner of providing guaranteed wins associated with a gaming activity according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a casino gaming machine according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a processor-implemented gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating software component interactions according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various exemplary embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, as structural and operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Generally, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for providing a player a guaranteed number of winning events in association with a particular gaming activity. The winning events may be associated with the primary gaming activity itself. Alternatively, the winning events may be associated with bonus rounds, free spins, or similar events that occur in response to certain sequences or happenings of the primary gaming activity.

For example, the present invention may be used integrally with a primary gaming activity, such as a slot game. A primary slot game may have a symbol combination, random identifier, and/or other triggering event that awards the gaming participant with some guaranteed number of “wins.” These “wins” may depend on the particular game. For example, in a reel-type slot game, a “win” may be any symbol or symbol combination that results in the participant being awarded cash, credit(s), additional spins, or other defined result. A guaranteed number of wins in such a situation may involve, for example, some established number of wins that the participant is awarded without incurring additional wagering costs. A particular example may be that a random indicator, or alternatively a predetermined symbol combination, awards the participant four “guaranteed wins.” In such case, the slot reels will spin and present symbol combinations on the video or mechanical reels until at least four winning results occur, where (in one embodiment) the participant did not incur any additional wagers to get this guaranteed number of wins. The gaming events will continue to occur, without further wagering by the participant, until the participant wins (at least) four times. The “win” can be defined in any manner, as indicated above. For example, it may range from one credit (or less) to a progressive jackpot (or more). The winning “results” may be defined on a payline basis, such as where a winning symbol combination must occur on at least four paylines, whether or not these paylines are presented in a single spin of the reels or on multiple spins of the reels. The winning results may alternatively (or additionally) be defined on a gaming event basis. For example, a “gaming event” may be defined as a spin of the one or more reels that are active based on the participant's wager, such that one winning “result” is whether or not any one or more paylines provided a winning result. In other words, a single winning result may occur if any one or more played paylines on the one or more reels of the gaming event result in a winning symbol or symbol combination. These and other features of the invention may be applied in connection with the primary gaming event, and/or in connection with a secondary or other auxiliary gaming event (e.g., bonus event).

Embodiments of the present invention, as described more fully below, are applicable to various gaming activities that are played on a gaming machine, including slot games such as reel slots and video slots, and other games utilizing a string(s) of symbols to generate a game result(s). The present invention is described in terms of slot machines to provide an understanding of the invention. While a description in terms of slot machines facilitates an understanding of the invention, the invention is also applicable to other gaming activities of chance as will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art from the description provided herein. For example, the concepts described herein may be applied to other wagering or non-wagering games known in the art, including slots, poker, blackjack, roulette, keno, craps, baccarat, sports betting, etc. The present invention may be applicable to both mechanized and non-mechanized versions of these primary games. Embodiments of the present invention may be described in the context of computerized gaming apparatus, although those skilled in the art will recognize the concepts may be applicable to non-computerized and non-mechanized equivalents.

As is described more fully below, embodiments of the present invention provide a gaming activity having bonus modes that offer a predetermined number of winning outcomes to the player during the bonus mode. These bonus modes of play may include, for example, free spin play associated with a slot machine. Although some embodiments of the invention may be described using examples of bonus mode play (e.g., secondary gaming activity), the invention is equally applicable in connection with primary modes (e.g., primary gaming activity).

As is known in the art, bonus events are used in gaming activities such as slot games and provide alternative modes of play that are intended to attract and captivate players of such slot games. Generally, a bonus game or event on a slot machine is typically an additional gaming reel, machine, random selection device, etc., that is enabled by a bonus qualifying signal from an underlying or primary gaming activity. Generally, a predetermined prize-winning combination of symbols in an underlying or primary slot game may result in the player being awarded one or more bonus games. Often the bonus event has a much higher probability of winning, thereby instilling a great interest by players in being awarded bonus events. There are various secondary or “bonus” events known in the art.

In reference now to FIG. 1, a flow diagram illustrates a procedure 100 for providing a guaranteed number of wins in association with a bonus gaming activity. The illustrated procedure 100 represents a subroutine based on a series (one or more) of primary play events 102. For each primary play event 102, one or more conditions 104 are tested to determine whether a bonus round will be entered. This trigger condition 104 may include a particular symbol or item, a particular display and/or arrangement of symbols, a predetermined winning event, a partially random event, an entirely random event (e.g., a mystery bonus which occurs randomly and without particular correlation to symbols presented in connection with the gaming activity), or any other condition appropriate to the primary gaming activities 102.

When the bonus round trigger condition(s) 104 is detected, one embodiment involves setting 106 a win counter to zero (or other predetermined value). Thereafter, bonus round events 108 are continually played. For each bonus round event 108, a winning event is tested 110. If test 110 determines that the event is a winning event, the win counter is incremented 112, and the incremented win count is compared 114 to a predetermined threshold value. If this comparison 114 determines the threshold value is satisfied, the bonus round is complete, and the primary gaming events 102 may resume, as indicated by path 116. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, “incrementation” is not required, and is illustrated as a representative manner of determining when the threshold value is reached (e.g., an initial value may be chosen that is decremented until reaching a predetermined value, or other manner of tracking the number of winning events).

It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention may include numerous variations on the illustrated procedure 100. For example, the procedure may be adapted to a primary gaming activity by beginning at step 106, and assuming that the event 108 is a primary gaming event. In such a variation, the path 116 would terminate the procedure as opposed to resuming a primary gaming activity. Similarly, in variation where the guaranteed wins are based on bonus activities 108, if the comparison 114 determines the threshold value is satisfied, path 116 may instead cause the procedure 100 to terminate, or path 116 may instead lead to another non-primary gaming activity (e.g., a second bonus round).

In the example procedure 100 of FIG. 1, the incrementing (or other tracking) of the win count 112 and the threshold comparison 114 assumed that a sum of winning events that satisfies a predetermined value is necessary and sufficient to end the bonus round. This is illustrated in sequence 202 of FIG. 2A. As indicated by the timeline 200, a series of gaming events 202 are undertaken at the beginning time 204. Note that the events 202 are not necessarily drawn to scale, e.g., each of the gaming events 202 may each take different amounts of time to complete. The win threshold in the example of FIG. 2A is three wins, in no particular order. This is satisfied at time 206, due to winning events 208, 210, 212. At time 206, the activity “stops,” which might involve completion of the gaming activity, transition to another type of gaming activity, etc.

The sequence shown in FIG. 2A illustrates a typical example of determining that a guaranteed number of wins has been awarded. The example in FIG. 2A counts to total number of wins in the sequence 202, and completes 206 independent of the sequence or character of the wins, and also independent of the total number events that are actually played in the sequence 202. However, many variations of providing a guaranteed number of winning events are also possible, as shown in the examples of FIGS. 2B-D. For example, in FIG. 2B, the completion 206B occurs only when three winning events 214, 216, and 218 occurs in consecutive sequence. Note that additional winning events 220, 222 may occur that bring the total of wins to a value greater than the guaranteed three, as the completion 206B does not occur until the three-in-a-row sequence 214, 216, 218 occurs.

In another example sequence 224 shown in FIG. 2C, a differentiation is made between two different classes of wins, as exemplified by winning event 226 (a “small” win as indicated by a lowercase “w”) and winning event 228 (a “large” win as indicated by uppercase “W”). The designation of “large” and “small” in describing the wins are typically related to the amount of monetary awards associated with the winning events, although other differentiating criteria may be appropriate, including odds, categories, patterns, time to complete, etc. The completion 206C of the sequence 224 does not occur until some combination of the small and large winning events has occurred. In this example, the criterion may be three small wins 226, 230, and 232 along with a large win 228. However, other criteria may be inferred from the sequence 224. For example, the criterion may be that the sequence 224 completes 206C when the player is awarded four or more wins, where at least one of the wins is a large win 228. Another example is where the small and large wins are assigned different point values, and the sequence 224 completes 206C when the sum of these point values satisfies a threshold value.

Another possible variation of guaranteed wins is shown in the example sequences 234 and 236 in FIG. 2D. In this figure, the general criterion for completing 206D, 206E the sequences 234, 236 is that the sequences 234, 236 must offer both a minimum number of wins, as well as a minimum number of play opportunities. The specific criterion illustrated in FIG. 2D is that the player must have the opportunity to have at least seven play attempts and at least three wins. Therefore, sequence 234 stops 206D after a losing event (the seventh event in the sequence 234), because the player has already experienced three wins 238, 240, and 242. However, sequence 236 goes beyond seven play events, because by the time the seventh event is reached (after winning event 246), only two wins 244, 246 have been experienced, and the sequence 236 only ends 206E when the third and final win 248 occurs.

In view of the various ways of determining a number of guaranteed wins in association with a gaming experience as shown in FIGS. 2A-2D, FIG. 3 shows a more general procedure 300 according to embodiments of the invention. The procedure 300 may be applicable to either or both of primary and bonus gaming activities. The procedure 300 typically involves initiating 302 variables, such as play and win histories. Then, each of a series of game play events 304 is engaged in, and a win condition determined 306. If the outcome is determined 306 to be a loss (path 307), then the play history (e.g., number of plays completed) is still updated 308, and play events 304 continue. If outcome is determined 306 to be a win, then the win history may be updated 310 along with updating 312 the play history. It will be appreciated that the gaming history may be stored as a single structure (e.g., a linked list of elements, each element representing an event outcome), such that the updating 308, 310, 312 occurs on the same set of data. Finally, if the play and/or win histories satisfy some guaranteed win condition 314, the routine is complete 316.

A guaranteed win gaming experience can be provided using any type of gaming venue. In reference now to FIG. 4, a gaming machine 400 is illustrated that provides a guaranteed win gaming experiences according to an embodiment of the invention. The illustrated gaming machine 400 may include a computing system (not shown) to carry out operations described herein. The gaming machine 400 includes a display 402, and a user interface 404, although some or all of the user interface may be provided via the display 402 in touch screen embodiments. The user interface 404 allows the user to control and engage in play of the gaming machine 400. The particular user interface mechanisms included with user interface 404 may be dependent on the type of gaming machine. For example, the user interface 404 may include one or more buttons, switches, joysticks, levers, pull-down handles, trackballs, voice-activated input, or any other user input system or mechanism that allows the user to play the particular gaming activity.

In the particular embodiments illustrated, the gaming machine 400 may support one or more primary games 406 playable from the same machine 400. If the machine 400 supports multiple primary games 406, the user interface 404 may be generalized and programmable to support the different games. For example, various controls of the user interface 404 may have different functions depending on the current game being played. These different functions could be indicated by a menu or labels provided on the display 402, wherein the labels describe the function performed by each control for the current game. In other arrangements, the user interface 404 itself may have mechanical or electrical elements that denote different functions of various controls for each game. For example, buttons may have built-in or nearby electronic (e.g., LED, LCD) or mechanical indicators that provide words or symbols that changeably indicate the function of each button.

The user interface 404 may allow the user to enter coins, bills, or otherwise obtain credits through vouchers, tokens, credit cards, tickets, etc. Various mechanisms for entering such vouchers, tokens, credit cards, coins, tickets, etc. are known in the art. For example, coin/symbol input mechanisms, card readers, credit card readers, smart card readers, punch card readers, radio frequency identifier (RFID) readers, and other mechanisms may be used to enter wagers. It is through the user interface 404 that the user can initiate and engage in a gaming activity in accordance with the invention. While the illustrated embodiment depicts various buttons for the user interface 404, it should be recognized that a wide variety of user interface options are available for use in connection with the present invention, including pressing buttons, touching a segment of a touch-screen, entering text, entering voice commands, or other known user entry methodology.

The display device 402 may include one or more of an electronic display, a mechanical display, and fixed display information such as information such as paytable information associated with a glass/plastic panel on the gaming machine 400. The slot symbols, cards or other indicia associated with the play of the game may be presented on an electronic display device. The illustrated display 402 devotes a portion of viewable area to the gaming portion 406, which represents where the visual feedback for any selected game (including both primary and bonus activities) is provided to the user. The gaming portion 406 may render graphical objects such as cards, slot wheels, dice, animated characters, and any other gaming visual known in the art. The gaming portion 406 may also be implemented in mechanical embodiments, such as using mechanical reels or other mechanical components. The gaming portion 406 may also inform players of the outcome of any particular event, including whether the event resulted in a win or loss.

The machine 400 and its associated display 402 may also include elements that provide feedback related to guaranteed wins of either primary or bonus gaming activities. The illustrated machine 400 includes a bonus display area 408 that provides an indication that the current player is in a bonus round, and that the bonus round will continue until a guaranteed number of wins has been awarded. An optional progress indicator 410 provides visual cues to the player that enables determining the number of wins currently awarded, and the number of wins that remain to be awarded. The illustrated progress indicator 410 appears similar to a progress bar, although other graphical elements may provide analogous player-perceptible cues, including dials, number countdown, audio countdown, on-screen notifications, etc.

As may now be readily understood, one or more devices may be programmed to play various embodiments of the invention. The present invention may be implemented as a casino gaming machine such as a slot machine or other special purpose gaming kiosk as described in FIG. 4, or may be implemented via computing systems operating under the direction of local gaming software, and/or remotely-provided software such as provided by an application service provider (ASP). The casino gaming machines utilize computing systems to control and manage the gaming activity. An example of a representative computing system 500 capable of carrying out operations in accordance with the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5.

Hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof may be used to perform the various gaming functions, display presentations and operations described herein. The functional modules used in connection with the invention may reside in a gaming machine as described, or may alternatively reside on a stand-alone or networked computer. The computing structure 500 of FIG. 5 is an example computing structure that can be used in connection with such electronic gaming machines, computers, or other computer-implemented devices to carry out operations of the present invention.

The example computing arrangement 500 suitable for performing the gaming functions in accordance with the present invention typically includes a central processor (CPU) 502 coupled to random access memory (RAM) 504 and some variation of read-only memory (ROM) 506. The ROM 506 may also represent other types of storage media to store programs, such as programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), etc. The processor 502 may communicate with other internal and external components through input/output (I/O) circuitry 508 and bussing 510, to provide control signals, communication signals, and the like.

The computing arrangement 500 may also include one or more data storage devices, including hard and floppy disk drives 512, CD-ROM drives 514, card reader 515, and other hardware capable of reading and/or storing information such as DVD, etc. In one embodiment, software for carrying out the operations in accordance with the present invention may be stored and distributed on a CD-ROM 516, diskette 518, access card 519, or other form of media capable of portably storing information. These storage media may be inserted into, and read by, devices such as the CD-ROM drive 514, the disk drive 512, card reader 515, etc. The software may also be transmitted to the computing arrangement 500 via data signals, such as being downloaded electronically via a network, such as the Internet. Further, as previously described, the software for carrying out the functions associated with the present invention may alternatively be stored in internal memory/storage of the computing device 500, such as in the ROM 506.

The computing arrangement 500 is coupled to the display 511, which represents a display on which the gaming activities in accordance with the invention are presented. The display 511 represents the “presentation” of the video information in accordance with the invention, and may be any type of known display or presentation screen, such as LCD displays, plasma display, cathode ray tubes (CRT), digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), etc. Where the computing device 500 represents a stand-alone or networked computer, the display 511 may represent a standard computer terminal or display capable of displaying multiple windows, frames, etc. Where the computing device is embedded within an electronic gaming machine, the display 511 corresponds to the display screen of the gaming machine/kiosk. A user input interface 522 such as a mouse, keyboard/keypad, microphone, touch pad, trackball, joystick, touch screen, voice-recognition system, etc. may be provided. The display 511 may also act as a user input device, e.g., where the display 511 is a touchscreen device.

Chance-based gaming systems such as slot machines, to which the present invention is applicable, are governed by random numbers and processors, as facilitated by a random number generator (RNG). In particular, the fixed and dynamic symbols generated as part of a secondary gaming activity may be produced using one or more RNGs. RNGs are known in the art, and may be implemented using hardware, software operable in connection with the processor 502, or some combination of hardware and software. The present invention is operable using any known RNG, and may be integrally programmed as part of the processor 502 operation, or alternatively may be a separate RNG controller 540.

The computing arrangement 500 may be connected to other computing devices or gaming machines, such as via a network. The computing arrangement 500 may be connected to a network server 528 in an intranet or local network configuration. The computer may further be part of a larger network configuration as in a global area network (GAN) such as the Internet. In such a case, the computer may have access to one or more servers (e.g., Web servers) via the Internet.

Among other functions, the computing arrangement 500 provides an interactive experience to players via input interface 522 and output devices, such as the display 511, speaker 530, etc. These experiences are generally controlled by gaming software 532 that controls a primary gaming activity of the computing arrangement 500. The gaming software 532 may be temporarily loaded into RAM 504, and may be stored locally using any combination of ROM 506, drives 512, or media player 514. The primary gaming software 532 may also be accessed remotely, such as via the server 528 or the Internet.

The primary gaming software 532 in a computing arrangement 500 according to embodiments of the present invention may provide any manner of gaming experience known in the art, and the present invention does not depend on any specific type of primary gaming software 532. The primary gaming software 532 may also, however, provide indications of bonus gaming events triggers for use by a bonus gaming module 534. The bonus gaming module 534 may be integrated code of the primary gaming module 532, or may be provided as separate executable programs, libraries, objects, scripts, and/or any other form of computer-executable instructions known in the art.

Either or both of the primary and bonus gaming modules 532, 534, may provide the player a guaranteed number of wins in response to some play scenario. For example, the primary module 532 may offer a guaranteed number of wins in response to a large wager. In one scenario, the player could purchase a guarantee of three wins on a dollar slot machine for some amount that is larger than a single spin wager (e.g., ten dollars for three guaranteed wins). The “wins” may be defined as any payout greater than a dollar. In other arrangements, the bonus gaming module 534 may enter a mode such as a “free spin” mode where the player is guaranteed to remain in free spin mode until awarded some predetermined number of wins. This provision of guaranteed wins could be combined with traditional free spin bonus round criteria, which typically involves allowing the player to continue for at least a predetermined number of free spins. Other criteria that may be incorporated by the gaming modules 532, 534 to provide guaranteed wins are discussed in relation to FIGS. 2A-D

The primary and bonus gaming modules 532, 534 may also interact with components of the computing arrangement when providing guaranteed wins. For example, a group of machines may interact to provide guaranteed wins that are spread across two or more gaming machines 500. These machines 500 may communicate over a network with each other and with centralized computing devices such as the gaming server 528. In other arrangements, the primary and bonus gaming modules 532, 534 may extract player-specific data that may be used for providing guaranteed number wins based on a player identity. For example, the player may pay some amount for a guaranteed number of wins that are spread across two or more machines 500. This player identity data may be read from an input device (e.g., card reader 515) and allow each gaming machine to verify remaining guaranteed win amounts, such as by accessing the win data on a centrally located server 528, database (not shown) or other networked or remotely located data processing element.

Other components directed to gaming machine implementations include manners of gaming participant payment, and gaming machine payout. For example, a gaming machine including the computing arrangement 500 may also include a hopper controller 542 to determine the amount of payout to be provided to the participant. The hopper controller may be integrally implemented with the processor 502, or alternatively as a separate hopper controller 542. A hopper 544 may also be provided in gaming machine embodiments, where the hopper serves as the mechanism holding the coins/tokens of the machine. The wager input module 546 represents any mechanism for accepting coins, tokens, coupons, bills, electronic fund transfer (EFT), tickets, credit cards, smart cards, membership cards, etc., for which a participant inputs a wager amount. It will be appreciated that both the primary gaming software 532 and secondary gaming module 534 may be able to control payouts via the hopper 544 and controller 542 for independently determined payout events.

It will be appreciated that the gaming functionality described herein may be implemented on any combination of hardware and software, as well as any combination of standalone apparatus and networked systems. A more particular description of the functionality according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in the software component diagram 600 in FIG. 6. These components 600 may be implemented as a single executable running on a single machine, or may be multiple processes/threads that are distributed over a local-area, wide-area, or global-area network. The components 600 and their associated functionality may be implemented using any combination of software and hardware.

The components 600 operate in conjunction with a primary gaming activity, as represented by the primary game execution module 602 and game play user interface (UI) 604. These modules 602, 604 generally interact 606 to provide the experience of whatever game the machine is configured to play. This game play 606 may also result in the triggering 608 of a bonus round via a bonus round execution module 610. Generally, the primary game execution module 602 relinquishes control of the game play

UI 604 (and other components) to the bonus round execution module 610 upon the triggering 608 of the bonus round.

The bonus round execution module 610 may include interfaces to the game play UI 604 for purposes of facilitating bonus play 612. The primary and bonus execution modules 602, 610 may both interface with hardware (e.g., coin hopper, software, and/or network components (e.g., remote secure credit transactions) for receiving wagers and providing payouts, as indicated by wager/payout indicators 614, 616 directed to wager/payout interface 618. The game execution module 602 and or bonus round execution module 610 may also receive player specific data 620, 622 via a data reader 624 (e.g., touchscreen, card reader, RFID reader, etc.) in order to tailor the game to a specific player, track the player's current wins/credits, etc.

The bonus round execution module 610 may communicate each win/loss event 626 of the bonus round to guaranteed win determinator 628. The bonus round execution module 610 may be configured to continually offer bonus plays to the player until the guaranteed win determinator 628 signals 630 that the current bonus play history has satisfied some predetermined criterion, and that bonus play is complete. In turn, the bonus round execution module 610 delivers control 632 back to the primary game execution module 602. The win determinator 628 may also signal 634 wins awarded and remaining to the game play UI 604, either directly as shown, or via the bonus round execution module 610. The win determinator 628 may be configured to access 628 player data 636 from the data reader 624 for such purposes as tracking statistics, offering special win opportunities, allowing guaranteed wins to be distributed across two or more machines, etc.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. For example, the present invention is equally applicable in electronic or mechanical gaming machines, and is also applicable to live table versions of the gaming activities. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not with this detailed description, but rather determined from the claims appended hereto. 

1. A method of providing a gaming experience to a player, comprising: providing a primary gaming activity to a player via a gaming machine that involves engaging the player in a plurality of play events; defining a win threshold as a predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events; and continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences a number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of play events are bonus play events resulting from the primary gaming activity entering a bonus state.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein satisfying the win threshold comprises a) the player experiencing the number of winning events that satisfies the win threshold and b) the player experiencing a total number of the play events that satisfies a predetermined limit on play events, regardless of the event outcome of the play events.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the winning events comprise a first and a second classification of winning events, and wherein satisfying the win threshold comprises the player experiencing a predetermined combination of quantities of the first and second classifications of winning events.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein defining the win threshold as the predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events comprises defining the win threshold as a predetermined number of consecutive winning events of the plurality of play events.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein satisfying the win threshold comprises a) the player experiencing the number of winning events that satisfies the win threshold and b) the player experiencing a total number of the play events that satisfies a predetermined limit on play events, regardless of the event outcome of the play events.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the winning events comprise a first and a second classification of winning events, and wherein satisfying the win threshold comprises the player experiencing a predetermined combination of quantities of the first and second classifications of winning events.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the win threshold as the predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events comprises defining the win threshold as a predetermined number of consecutive winning events of the plurality of play events.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a progress indicator in conjunction with continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences the number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold, wherein the progress indicator is updated upon each of the winning events to indicate the number of winning events needed to satisfy the win threshold.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the continuing of the player engagement in the plurality of play events in response to an occurrence of a random event.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein enabling the continuing of the player engagement in the plurality of play events in response to an occurrence of a random event comprises enabling the continuing of the player engagement in the plurality of play events in response to a mystery bonus which occurs randomly and without particular correlation to symbols presented in connection with the primary gaming activity.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the continuing of the player engagement in the plurality of play events in response to an occurrence of one or more particular symbols presented in connection with the primary gaming activity.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the continuing of the player engagement in the plurality of play events in response to an occurrence of one or more particular symbol combinations presented in connection with the primary gaming activity.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences the number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold comprises enabling the player to engage in the plurality of play events without requiring the player to make additional wagers.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a wager and initiating the primary gaming activity in response to the wager; and enabling the continuing of the player engagement in the plurality of play events without requiring receipt of additional wagers during participation of the plurality of the play events.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving another wager to initiate a subsequent primary gaming activity after reaching the number of winning events that satisfied the win threshold.
 17. A casino gaming apparatus, comprising: a processor; a human input and output coupled to the processor; a primary gaming module that causes the processor to provide player access to a primary gaming activity via the human input and output, and to relinquish play control upon the happening of a predetermined primary play state; a bonus module that causes the processor to, assume play control from the primary gaming module upon the happening of the predetermined primary play state, wherein play control includes providing player access to bonus game events via the human input and output; defining a win threshold as a predetermined number of the bonus game events that have a winning outcome; and relinquish play control to the primary gaming module when the win threshold is satisfied.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the bonus module further causes the processor to define the win threshold as a) the player experiencing the number of winning events that satisfies the win threshold, and b) the player experiencing a total number of the bonus game events that satisfies a predetermined limit on bonus events, regardless of the event outcome of the bonus game events.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the bonus module further causes the processor to place the bonus game events that have a winning outcome into a first and a second classification, and wherein play control is relinquished when a predetermined combination of quantities of the first and second classifications of winning events satisfies the win threshold.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein defining the win threshold as the predetermined number of the bonus game events that have the winning outcome comprises defining the win threshold as a predetermined number of consecutive bonus game events that have the winning outcome.
 21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the bonus module further causes the processor to displaying a progress indicator via the human input and output in conjunction with providing player access to the bonus game events, wherein the progress indicator is updated upon the occurrence of each of the bonus game events that have a winning outcome to indicate the number of winning bonus events needed to satisfy the win threshold.
 22. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon and executable by a processing system for performing steps comprising: providing a primary gaming activity to a player via a gaming machine that involves engaging the player in a plurality of play events; defining a win threshold as a predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events; and continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences a number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold.
 23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the plurality of play events are bonus play events resulting from the primary gaming activity entering a bonus state.
 24. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein satisfying the win threshold comprises a) the player experiencing the number of winning events that satisfies the win threshold, and b) the player experiencing a total number of the play events that satisfies a predetermined limit on play events, regardless of the event outcome of the play events.
 25. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the winning events comprise a first and a second classification of winning events, and wherein satisfying the win threshold comprises the player experiencing a predetermined combination of quantities of the first and second classifications of winning events.
 26. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein defining the win threshold as the predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events comprises defining the win threshold as a predetermined number of consecutive winning events of the plurality of play events.
 27. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, further comprising displaying a progress indicator in conjunction with continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences the number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold, wherein the progress indicator is updated upon each of the winning events to indicate the number of winning events needed to satisfy the win threshold.
 28. A system comprising: means for providing a primary gaming activity to a player via a gaming machine that involves engaging the player in a plurality of play events; means for defining a win threshold as a predetermined number of winning events of the plurality of play events; and means for continuing to engage the player in the plurality of play events at least until the player experiences a number of the winning events that satisfies the win threshold.
 29. The system of claim 21, further comprising means for providing a bonus gaming activity triggered via the primary gaming activity, and wherein the plurality of play events comprise bonus play events of the bonus gaming activity. 